India, France and the United Arab Emirates on February 4 declared their common intent to formalise a “trilateral cooperation initiative” to collaborate on nuclear energy and explore opportunities in the Indian Ocean region.
Key points
- The Foreign Ministers of the three countries held a telephonic conversation in this regard and agreed to work together in the field of solar and nuclear energy, climate change and biodiversity.
- During this call, the three sides agreed that the trilateral initiative will serve as a forum to promote the design and execution of cooperation projects in the fields of energy, with a focus on solar and nuclear energy, as well as in the fight against climate change and the protection of biodiversity, particularly in the Indian Ocean region.
- Earlier meeting The trilateral was first discussed when the three Ministers — Dr. Jaishankar, France’s Catherine Colonna and the UAE’s Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan — had met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2022.
- It was further agreed that “a range of trilateral events will be held in the backdrop of the Indian Presidency of the G20 here and COP28 to be held in UAE in November-December 202.
- The countries have also agreed to cooperate in defence preparation and in countering infectious diseases. Towards ‘One Health’, cooperation in multilateral organizations such as World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund will be encouraged.
- Further, the three countries will attempt to identify tangible cooperation on implementing the “One Health” approach, and support the development of local capacities in biomedical innovation and production within developing countries.
